AHS Views

A new study shows that alcohol shrinks the brain. Millions of people need drug and alcohol addiction help, and we’re spending millions finding out this useless information.

Why do we need it? We already know that just one drink can impair abstract thinking for a month, we already know it causes a gradual deterioration of the body and people die before their time, we already know it’s involved in most domestic violence incidents, we already know it’s ruins families, lives, careers. Shouldn’t we be spending our money making sure people get the addiction help services they need?

Williams Lake, a city in British Columbia, Canada, is taking some unusual steps to help handle alcohol addiction and abuse problems. The city council has been asking Interior Health, the government department responsible for the health of the entire province, for addiction help and not getting it. Last year there were over 1200 reported cases of public intoxication and 800 arrests. The population is only 12,000 - so that’s  a lot of arrests.

The police, specifically the RCMP, have decided to bill Interior Health for every related expense until Interior Health coughs up some help in one form or another. Williams Lake would like a detox center but, since they’ve made it clear they want effective addiction help, they should really get a full blown drug rehab center, not just drug detox.

The local mayor says these incidents of alcohol addiction and abuse are costing the city $150,000/year. I think he may have left a few expenses out. That’s only $125 per person found intoxicated. And with 800 arrests, you can be sure it’s costing more than $125. 

In any case, Williams Lake is a small (but extremely beautiful) town and $150,000 could be put to better use.

I don’t know if Interior Health will pay those bills, but this should certainly call attention to the fact that the city needs help and put a little pressure on the powers that be. In the meantime, someone needing addiction help should contact Addiction Help Services to help them find a facility that’s right for their situation.

September is National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery month but according to a recent survey from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, less than 2% of Americans who need addiction help are even attempting to get it.

While it’s true we need to help those who do get addiction help to recover, there has to be an all out effort to educate people on what alcohol and drug addiction or abuse actually are if we want to put anymore than a tiny dent in the problem.

Many people think they don’t have a problem. Who’s going to tell them they do? Their family members have probably been telling them, they’ve probably even realized it themselves - although they won’t admit it and continually deny it to others. Nevertheless, until they get addiction help, nothing’s going to change.

If you have someone in your life who needs addiction help services - whether the problem is drugs, alcohol, or even prescription drugs - make September the month you’re going to do something about it.

I’ve written a lot of blogs in the past about the dangers of methadone. Check out yesterday’s New York Times article about methadone-related deaths and you’ll find out more about the problem. And why people who are already taking other drugs or drinking alcohol, or could possibly do either, need to get addiction help before they ever do anything like take methdone or other opiate painkillers.

Methadone is dangerous enough all by itself, but when you combine it with other drugs or alcohol, you’re really taking a very big risk.

Imagine this scenario - you drink, or take drugs that aren’t really necessary for your survival. They’re not saving your life, they’re just enabling you to escape whatever’s bothering you. Tranquilizers, sedatives, etc. You could probably use addiction help, but you’re not getting it.

Then you’re in an accident or have an unexpected illness. The doctor has to give you prescription painkillers. But you’re also taking other drugs. Or drinking. Now you have to take a drug that could kill you.

Do you really want to be in that position? Do you want someone you care about to be in that position? No. So, get some addiction help now. Life is the school of hard knocks. To get through it, you need to be in good shape. And the better you’re doing mentally, emotionally and physically, the greater your chances are to be happy and make life what you want it to be. Don’t take drugs - become more able to handle your problems.

And the first problem you can handle is your addiction to or dependence on drugs. Start with drug addiction help services.

Oklahoma has it bad. Drug and alcohol addiction in Oklahoma contributes to 85 percent of homicides, 80 percent of prison incarcerations and 75 percent of divorce, and costs the state about $5.8 billion a year - which is enough to get about 10% of the entire population of Oklahoma through a long-term residential drug rehab program that will give them the addiction help they need.

Spending that money on addiction help would seem to be the best approach. You’d get 300,000 people off alcohol or drugs - that’s 10% of the entire state population. Instead, they spend about $1.4 billion dollars in direct costs - defined as trying to prevent addiction, locking up people who commit crimes because of addiction, and treating addicts. How much is spent getting addicts addiction help wasn’t specified but it’s obviously not anywhere enough.

The other $4.4 billion is “indirect” costs such as “financial losses from premature deaths, imprisonment and school dropouts.”

If the money was spent getting addiction help serivces for those who need it, very few of those other expenses would be necessary. And you pretty much would have handled at least those with serious addiction problems with one year’s budget. Then money can go into prevention so Oklahoma doesn’t get into that much trouble again.

Is spending money on effective addiction help services just too simple or something? What am I missing?

The YMCA in Coppell, Texas is planning to offer drug education for recreational drug users and support for families whose lives have been adversely affected by drugs and alcohol. Ralph Strangis, a former drug addict and alcoholic who is now an upstanding member of the community, will be speaking at the first event. According to Strangis, members of the local community tend to not talk about drug and alcohol problems. He’s hoping this program will enable them to do so. It also may help ensure people who need addiction help get it.

Not talking about alcohol and drug problems is not unusual. But for the 15 million or so people with alcohol problems in the U.S. who need treatment but don’t get it, talking about it - whether you’re the person with the problem or you are a friend or relative - could be the first step to getting the addiction help needed.

Unfortunately, too many people ignore problems with drugs or alcohol. Sometimes people see drugs, or alcohol, as just a phase that will blow over. Sometimes they think there’s nothing wrong with a little drugs or a few drinks. And sometimes the friends and family members don’t think they’d ever be able to convince the person to get help.

However, there is help available through an interventionist. If you need one, you should call Addiction Help Services - they’ll give you all the help you need.

Ignoring alcohol or drug problems is never a good solution. Eventually, it will ruin someone’s life. And some may even lose their lives altogether or be instrumental in someone else losing theirs. What’s better? Continuing to live with the problem or doing something about? Hopefully, other communities will follow in Coppell’s footsteps and make sure community members get the addiction help services they need.

Plano is not theonly

Living in Missouri and wondering where your children are is no different than anywhere else: If you have a child in high school, there is a good chance they are out drinking. Half of those kids will need addiction help because of alcohol abuse during their lifetime.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration half of your children will have had alcohol by age 15 and 90% will be drinking by age 21.
Addiction help being required for a third of the population in the next 15 years is not out of the question.

And that doesn’t even take the drug problem into account – including those that are prescribed.

Its really amazing when you  think about the ages that kids are drinking or doing drugs - . fourteen or fifteen-year-olds binge drinking or a college student needing addiction help because he drinks at school three or four  times a week. It’s estimated that 20% of college students need addiction help.

It seems to me that parents are sometimes very naïve about where their kids go when they go out on a Friday night, or when they go off to college. They will drink and, possibly, they will drink a lot.

If you are a parent and you drink you should assume your kids will follow in your footsteps. If you need addiction help services because of alcohol you should get it for the sake of your kids and your family.

Clark County in Washington state raised their taxes by .1 percent and invested the money in getting citizens of the county the addiction help they need.

Although the numbers don’t seem very impressive when you look at the magnitude of the drug problem - juvenile court will be able to give addiction help to 97 teens a year instead of 12, family therapy court will be able to handle 35 cases instead of 25, domestic violence court will be able to treat 57 people within the second year, drug detox beds will expand from 730 to 1460, long term inpatient addiction help will go from treating 40 people/month to 60, and outpatient facilities will be able to handle another 100 people on top of the thousands they already serve - this program will apparently enable the state to help 42 percent of addicts instead of 28 percent.

While this is admirable, very, I personally find it hard to believe that the number of people needing alcohol or drug addiction help is so small. The only figure that seems to be possibly close to correct is the thousands of detox beds that are apparently already full. But how many of those thousands are actually going to be able to stay off drugs or alcohol when they haven’t gone through long term treatment in a facility that gets down to the bottom of why they are addicted?

Nevertheless, any county in the U.S. that is taking action that will allow them to get addiction help for 42% of addicts the people who need it is far and away above what most areas are doing, whether the estimates of how many people need addiction help services are correct or not.  If other counties followed their lead, we would surely have a much better handle on the drug scene.

Handlng the drug and alcohol problem is not only about finding the best or most successful alcohol and drug rehab, it is also about getting people educated about the dangers of prolonged alcohol and drug abuse. Without it, the need for addiction help services isn’t likely to decrease.

While we are not an education site per se, we do understand the necessity of educating people on this subject. As a society, our best chance of limiting drug and alcohol abuse is to provide the necessary education to young people. The opportunity for education presents itself in school, homes, religious centers and sports teams - for a start.
 
When 50% of high school students aren’t afraid of prescription drugs, there is something wrong with the way the drug education is being presented. The number of people abusing and addicted to prescription drugs is unacceptably high – higher than those using other drugs, in fact - and should be addressed. Teaching kids about prescription drugs should be part of any drug education.

If you were able to get the number from 50% to 90% you might have a better chance of shrinking the addiction help industry.

When it comes to other drugs and alcohol, how many students in your high school actually know and realize that drug and alcohol use is dangerous? There have been a lot of articles recently about drug use being down, except for prescription drugs of course, but I seriously doubt fewer people will end up needing treatment.
 
We see the realities of drug and alcohol abuse everyday, more and more parents are calling for younger people all of the time.
 
The more you educate people on drug and alcohol the less addiction help will be needed.

Have I missed the mark?

Getting someone who needs help with alcohol or drug addiction can be difficult. In fact, 95% of alcohol and drug treatment candidates think they don’t have a problem. But, they do. They have a problem with alcohol or drugs, and they have the problems that got them into alcohol or drugs in the first place. And the only way to resolve those problems is through a successful alcohol and drug rehab program.

But how do you convince them of that fact? Sometimes the addict is afraid the person will think less of them if they discuss it, sometimes they think the person couldn’t possibly understand what they’re going through, and sometimes the relationship between the addict and the person trying to convince them to get help is not that great.

That’s when you need outside help – someone who understands what the addict is going through, has worked with hundreds or thousands of alcoholics or drug addicts in the past, and can convince them to get into alcohol or drug rehab.

If you need help getting someone into treatment, call a drug rehab program counselor. They’ll help you determine if an interventionist is needed, and will also help you find the right treatment program.